Do Something Life-Changing

Hi there! Your committee from the Organ Donation Society here! We just wanted to tell you a wee bit about the society and how to get involved…

The Organ Donation Society in St Andrews is the first university society of it’s kind to be partnered up with NHS Blood and Transplant. The society was set up in memory of St Andrews student, Alex Richardson, who tragically died after an accident in March 2009. Alex became a multiple organ donor and his organs have helped save the lives of four people. Since then we have been working with his mother, Annie Richardson, to promote organ donation in St Andrews.

Speaking about the NHS Organ Donation Register (ODR) at the Organ Donation Society launch event in February, Mrs Richardson said “Alex loved St Andrews and as a family it seems appropriate to us that the university partnership scheme is being launched here. The loss of a child for any family is devastating but it gives us some comfort that his organs have helped change the lives of four people, especially the man who received his very special heart. The message going forward is, Think about the ODR – Talk about the ODR – Act and register for the ODR.”

The aims of the society are just that. We hope that by using promotional material specific to St Andrews, putting on novel events and getting as many students involved as possible, we can continue to raise awareness about organ donation and significantly increase the number of young people that join the ODR.

Our launch in February 2013 was wildly publicised in student and national newspapers and we hope to continue to keep the subject of organ donation in the news. If you are passionate about organ donation and want to find out more, or have some creative ideas for events we want to hear from you. Please check out our new website or drop us a line at: organdonsoc@st- andrews.ac.uk

Out of the whole of the UK, Scotland has the highest percentage of its population on the organ donor register; 41% – but we think we can improve on this! So what are you waiting for? Get in touch, get involved and lets make a difference.

GIVE A SPIT, SAVE A LIFE

We are Marrow, the student run branch of Anthony Nolan – a charity that aims to help those with blood borne cancers. Our purpose in life is to get people to spit in tubes – sounds fun right?

Every day we are able to save two lives, but thiscould not be possible without you. As students we are among the healthiest (if you ignore all those late night Dervishes…) and most able-bodied population in the UK, making us the most suitable of donors!

How do we work?

We work by organising clinics in which we collect saliva samples from donors like you which are then sent these off to labs to determine the tissue type and suitability. If the sample is found to be suitable, the potential donor is added to the stem cell register. so that when a person becomes seriously ill and is in need of a stem cell transplant, doctors can search our register to find the most suitable match.

As the new committee of Marrow St Andrews our main aim for the year is to raise awareness of this charity within the university. We hope to add more people to the stem cell register as sadly, despite the great work we are able to do, only half the people who come to us in need of a transplant have a suitable match signed up on the register. As it costs the charity £100 to add one person onto the register we are also aiming to raise money to help this much needed charity continue its work.

So where do you come in?

The semester is just beginning however we already have a Cocktail and Music Night planned at Rascal’s Bar on 19th September. The night will feature singer Simon Gordon who is renowned for his Michael Bublé renditions and appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV show Superstar. Additionally we will also have a raffle with a variety of fabulous prizes on offer and best of all, the event is free! All we ask is that you kindly donate if you can.

So, if you are interested in joining our team, attending a clinic or just want to find out more about what we do and how we work feel free to contact us at marrow@st-andrews.ac.uk and like us on Facebook “Marrow St Andrews”.